Third round leaderboard:
-12 P Hanson (Swe) -8 M A Jimenez (Spn), S Dyson (Eng), -7 P Price (Wal) -6 G Boyd (Eng), S Gallacher (Sco), R Bland (Eng), N Colsaerts (Bel) Selected others: -5 F Widmark -3 D Lynn (Eng), M Tunnicliff (Eng), R Finch (Eng) +1 O Wilson (Eng) R McGowan (Eng)

Hanson was only given an invite to the event on Monday

Peter Hanson edged closer to automatic qualification for Europe's Ryder Cup team by extending his Czech Open lead.

The 32-year-old Swede fired a third-round 67 to reach 12 under par, four ahead of fellow Cup hopefuls Miguel Angel Jimenez and Simon Dyson.

Hanson and Dyson can move above Paul Casey into the qualifying places for Europe's team with victory on Sunday.

Casey is not playing in Celadna and has skipped next week's race-ending Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

Instead of competing for more Ryder points in Perthshire, the Englishman has elected to play at the lucrative FedEx Cup play-offs in the United States.

Hanson, currently 15th in the Cup standings, sank five birdies during a bogey-free five-under-par round that was only matched by Jimenez.

Spaniard Jimenez is currently eighth in the Cup standings, one above Casey, but he needs to reproduce his form in the final round because he has chosen to skip Gleneagles in order to attend a nephew's wedding.

606: DEBATE Monty would probably rather that Casey was not added to the list of big names relying on a pick, which already features Donald, Rose and Harrington jim80813t

"I'm going to take a week off - he moved all dates for that date," said Jimenez. "Tomorrow is very important for the Ryder Cup and I need to play well."

Dyson, who is placed 16th in the Cup standings, went around in 69 but was left to rue some mediocre putting.

"I have to be honest - I think the front nine is the best I've ever played. If my putter had been hot it could have been something ridiculous," reflected the 32-year-old.

"I would rather be 10 clear, but to give myself a chance is exactly what I wanted to do. It was a long way, but I knew I had to do it."

Dyson's compatriot Ross McGowan, 11th in the standings, will have to rely on Gleneagles to try and force his way into the team.

He was six off the pace after round two and fell a further seven shots back after a 73.

Fredrik Widmark, who shared the second-round lead with his compatriot Hanson, shot a 74 to fall back to five under.

Welshman Phillip Price, meanwhile, lay fourth on seven under following a 69.

Price, a Ryder Cup winner with Europe at the Belfry in 2002, needs a strong final round as he bids to move 26 places up the money list to 115th in order to retain his Tour card.

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